Match-winner Frankie Kent believes that Colchester United’s welcome knack of bouncing back from defeat, with an immediate win, should sustain a promotion push this season.

Centre-half Kent slotted home a 27th minute winner in Saturday’s 1-0 home victory over league leaders Lincoln City, the perfect way to respond to last Tuesday evening’s 1-0 defeat at Grimsby Town.

The U’s have lost just four league games to date, and on each occasion they have rallied to win their next match.

“We keep bouncing back from defeats. We haven’t lost two games in a row, which is something we remarked on after the game. That’s a good sign for us as a team,” enthused Kent.

“In the past we have tended to go on a run of defeats, but we’ve been able to stop that this season. We’ve rectified it.

“I think that’s down to self-belief. We were disappointed last Tuesday, but we knew we could get a result today, if we were all on it – we knew we could win,

“We’re in the mix, and the plan is to stay there all season.”

Referring to his winning goal, stabbing home from Courtney Senior’s corner, Kent said: “It was a split-second with the goal.

“I thought it was going in the first time, but it’s dropped and I just stepped onto it.

“It was an important goal, because we were going through a good spell in the game at that point, and obviously it helps scoring a goal to calm everyone down and give you that extra belief in what you are trying to do to win the game. It settled us down and we started playing.

“It was a physical battle, and possibly up there with the most physical we have had this season. We knew what Lincoln were about. They are a very strong team with some big boys up front.

“But we knew what we were doing defensively, and as a whole team today.

“It was one of the biggest games, and we all tried to play as well as we could against the league leaders.

“I take a professional pride in helping to keep another clean-sheet. We got another one the previous weekend (1-0 win at Morecambe) as well, so we know how good we can be as a team.

“Rene (Gilmartin) didn’t have a major save to make until injury-time, which shows how well we did as a team to stop them.”